Photo: Jaguar, Volvo
Jaguar shocked everyone with their "Copy Nothing" campaign, which no one understood and became the laugh of the internet. The failure was even more obvious after the internet discovered the emotional Volvo EX90 commercial shot by Hoyte Van Hoytema, the cinematographer of Interstellar and Oppenheimer. The funny thing is Jaguar's campaign suddenly turned everyone into a Volvo fan, although the EX90 ad was posted in September.
Jaguar's rebranding went under fire earlier this week after people questioned the British carmaker's wisdom when it gave the go-ahead to a controversial campaign. Jaguar changed everything, from the fonts used for its brand lettering to the last detail, including the "Leaper" logo's direction. However, it was the "Copy Nothing" video that rattled everyone.
To be fair, Jaguar's image was in free fall long ago and it probably is in dire need of an electrical shock. However, internet warriors, car enthusiasts, advertising professionals, and experts unanimously expressed disappointment at what they saw. Jaguar could've done its rebranding so much better, especially as it had some great examples. It nevertheless decided to "copy nothing," and unfortunately, this meant "make a fool of yourself."
The commercial was considered by many too "woke," whatever this means, with not even a remote connection to the gentleman's brand that Jaguar once was. To make matters worse, some noticed that the video contained several cliches despite its title. One scene was eerily similar to the 1984 Apple Macintosh commercial, which also featured a woman with a hammer. "Break moulds," writes the slide, but instead, this scene is only making the mold more obvious.
The biggest heresy was, however, that no car was featured in the commercial. If shock and awe were what this campaign intended to offer, it succeeded. However, they failed miserably if they wanted the shock to benefit the Jaguar brand. In fact, they damaged the brand almost irreparably. This became even more obvious after its ad was compared to the one Volvo shared in September to promote the EX90. Not only that, but it gave an unexpected boost to Volvo's campaign, something that Jaguar's creative people never saw coming.
The Volvo commercial broke every unwritten rule in social-media advertising, including for its almost four-minute length. That should've been a big no-no for an Instagram video, yet it kept viewers engaged to the last second. The emotional video, shot by Hoyte Van Hoytema, the cinematographer of Interstellar and Oppenheimer, was indeed breaking the mold and continues to do so. And that's even more true now that people finally rediscovered it in the wake of the Jaguar mishap.
The Volvo commercial tells the touching story of a man who learned he would be a father and imagined his family's future. From birth to adulthood, the video shows all the precious moments a father should live next to his daughter. The video then zooms back to the present and showcases the Volvo EX90 safety features that protected the man's partner from an imminent accident that could've killed the mother and the child. Many admitted crying after watching the commercial, and countless viewers swore they would buy a Volvo after watching it.
Interestingly, the original Volvo post on Instagram never got this much traction. It exploded only after McDonald's senior marketing director Guillaume Huin shared the video in contrast with Jaguar's campaign. It got 50,000 likes on the original Instagram post, but Huin's post on X was viewed 11 million times. Jaguar's campaign will forever remain in the books for doing so much to promote not the brand's products but those of a competing company.
Jaguar will have to live with the fallout for years to come, regardless of how successful the company will become. I wouldn't hold my breath, though, as a management team that approved the controversial rebranding campaign is unlikely to make other good decisions. It already made a big mistake, scrapping all its models while still having nothing to put in place. To be fair, Jaguar said those were unprofitable models, but what can be profitable when you only sell 67,000 cars in a year?
When your cars sell that badly, starting from scratch and working your way from there is probably best. For what it's worth, the British carmaker would've been better off avoiding the controversy and selling for whatever it was still worth to a Chinese carmaker. Let them thrash the brand with colorful commercials and launch extravagant models that Chinese millionaires can afford.
Because Jaguar does want to reposition itself as an ultra-luxury brand. However, nothing it has done so far looks helpful in this new situation. Jaguar will launch three ultra-luxury electric vehicles starting in 2026. That's a lot of waiting involved if you ask me, and I'm not sure the Jaguar Vision Design Concept set to be unveiled in December during Miami Art Week would be enough to fill the void. The teasers Jaguar shared on Instagram look like Jaguar wants to keep us shocked, although I can't say I'm not intrigued.
To be fair, Jaguar's image was in free fall long ago and it probably is in dire need of an electrical shock. However, internet warriors, car enthusiasts, advertising professionals, and experts unanimously expressed disappointment at what they saw. Jaguar could've done its rebranding so much better, especially as it had some great examples. It nevertheless decided to "copy nothing," and unfortunately, this meant "make a fool of yourself."
The commercial was considered by many too "woke," whatever this means, with not even a remote connection to the gentleman's brand that Jaguar once was. To make matters worse, some noticed that the video contained several cliches despite its title. One scene was eerily similar to the 1984 Apple Macintosh commercial, which also featured a woman with a hammer. "Break moulds," writes the slide, but instead, this scene is only making the mold more obvious.
The biggest heresy was, however, that no car was featured in the commercial. If shock and awe were what this campaign intended to offer, it succeeded. However, they failed miserably if they wanted the shock to benefit the Jaguar brand. In fact, they damaged the brand almost irreparably. This became even more obvious after its ad was compared to the one Volvo shared in September to promote the EX90. Not only that, but it gave an unexpected boost to Volvo's campaign, something that Jaguar's creative people never saw coming.
The Volvo commercial broke every unwritten rule in social-media advertising, including for its almost four-minute length. That should've been a big no-no for an Instagram video, yet it kept viewers engaged to the last second. The emotional video, shot by Hoyte Van Hoytema, the cinematographer of Interstellar and Oppenheimer, was indeed breaking the mold and continues to do so. And that's even more true now that people finally rediscovered it in the wake of the Jaguar mishap.
The Volvo commercial tells the touching story of a man who learned he would be a father and imagined his family's future. From birth to adulthood, the video shows all the precious moments a father should live next to his daughter. The video then zooms back to the present and showcases the Volvo EX90 safety features that protected the man's partner from an imminent accident that could've killed the mother and the child. Many admitted crying after watching the commercial, and countless viewers swore they would buy a Volvo after watching it.
Interestingly, the original Volvo post on Instagram never got this much traction. It exploded only after McDonald's senior marketing director Guillaume Huin shared the video in contrast with Jaguar's campaign. It got 50,000 likes on the original Instagram post, but Huin's post on X was viewed 11 million times. Jaguar's campaign will forever remain in the books for doing so much to promote not the brand's products but those of a competing company.
Jaguar will have to live with the fallout for years to come, regardless of how successful the company will become. I wouldn't hold my breath, though, as a management team that approved the controversial rebranding campaign is unlikely to make other good decisions. It already made a big mistake, scrapping all its models while still having nothing to put in place. To be fair, Jaguar said those were unprofitable models, but what can be profitable when you only sell 67,000 cars in a year?
When your cars sell that badly, starting from scratch and working your way from there is probably best. For what it's worth, the British carmaker would've been better off avoiding the controversy and selling for whatever it was still worth to a Chinese carmaker. Let them thrash the brand with colorful commercials and launch extravagant models that Chinese millionaires can afford.
Because Jaguar does want to reposition itself as an ultra-luxury brand. However, nothing it has done so far looks helpful in this new situation. Jaguar will launch three ultra-luxury electric vehicles starting in 2026. That's a lot of waiting involved if you ask me, and I'm not sure the Jaguar Vision Design Concept set to be unveiled in December during Miami Art Week would be enough to fill the void. The teasers Jaguar shared on Instagram look like Jaguar wants to keep us shocked, although I can't say I'm not intrigued.
Volvo posted a 3 min and 46 second ad on Instagram, shot by Hoyte Van Hoytema, the cinematographer of Interstellar and Oppenheimer.
— Guillaume Huin (@HuinGuillaume) November 21, 2024
It goes against every single rule you can think about as a social lead. Length. Format. Over-produced.
Every comment under the ad said it… pic.twitter.com/wkmghuP4ye
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